The Bulletin: June 2008

The Bulletin is a monthly newsletter for Children's and community providers.

Children's Ranked 8th by U.S.News & World Report

U.S.News & World Report magazine placed Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center among the nation’s top children’s hospitals for the 16th consecutive year. The results were announced as part of U.S.News & World Report’s annual America’s Best Children’s Hospitals issue on newsstands June 2. Children’s was ranked 8th in the country for pediatric care, up one spot from last year’s ranking, and was the only children’s hospital in the Pacific Northwest to make the list.

In addition to the overall hospital ranking for pediatric care, Children’s ranked fifth nationally in providing care for cancer patients, eighth in neurology and neurosurgery, and ninth in respiratory disorders. The hospital also received high ranks for heart care and surgery and neonatal care.

“These rankings are due to the tremendous support of our community and the remarkable work of our physicians, nurses, researchers and many others who strive to provide excellent, family-centered care every day,” said Dr. Thomas Hansen, CEO at Children’s. “We will continue to build on this strong foundation to increase the quality of patient care, improve outcomes and investigate new treatments - all in an effort to eliminate pediatric disease in children.”

America’s Best Children’s Hospitals now includes the 30-top ranked hospitals in cancer, digestive disorders, heart and heart surgery, neonatal care, neurology and neurosurgery, and respiratory disorders. The specialty rankings were based on a new methodology that weighed a three-part blend of reputation, outcome, and care-related measures such as nursing care, advanced technology, credentialing, and other factors. A detailed description of the methodology can be found online.

Ranking-eligible facilities were largely drawn from members of the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) in either of two categories—a freestanding children’s hospital or a children’s “hospital within a hospital” (a large, multidisciplinary pediatric service within a medical center). In addition, several non-NACHRI members were added because of known expertise or at the recommendation of experts. Of the 143 children’s hospitals invited to complete a survey 113 responded.

Children’s is the primary pediatric teaching site for the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM), which was ranked in the top ten among primary-care medical schools for the 14th straight year by U.S.News. The partnership between Children’s and the UWSOM draws the best and brightest physicians in the country to Seattle.

Details about the final rankings and more information about the survey methodology may be found online. You can also read a feature story about Children’s cancer program.

MRSA Clinic Available

Children’s has dedicated resources available to treat patients diagnosed with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

The MRSA Clinic is managed by Infectious Disease on the second and fourth Fridays of each month. It is located on the sixth floor of the Whale Zone.

Clinic staff asks that primary care providers (PCPs) explain to the family the reason for referring the patient,and prepare the family with questions they will need answered at their clinic visit. Also, when referring a patient, please include all culture results and susceptibilities, a list of oral and topical antibiotics that have been used for treatment and any other information you have gathered.

To refer a patient, PCPs can call the clinical intake nurses at (206) 987-2080. For urgent issues, call the Infectious Disease physician on-call through the physician operator at (206) 987-7777 or toll free at (877) 985-4637, option 4. Serious invasive MRSA infections should be referred to Infectious Disease Clinic, rather than the MRSA Clinic.

For questions, contact Theresa Harris, ARNP, at (206) 987-2917.

Brownstein Named Associate Medical Director for Patient Safety

Dr. Dena Brownstein is Children’s new Associate Medical Director for Patient Safety — Adverse Events, Medication Safety and Culture of Safety.

Dr. Dena Brownstein

Building on her previous success as quality improvement coordinator for the Department of Medicine, Dena will partner with Jill Langle, patient safety manager, to improve and expand our patient safety and quality improvement programs.

Dena began her new role in February of this year, and is charged with physician leadership of Children’s Adverse Event Program and Safety Culture survey, reviewing annual safety data, recommending organization-wide safety goals, and implementing a pediatric medication trigger tool. Dena will continue her current clinical activities as an attending physician in the Emergency Department.

After obtaining her medical degree at the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM), Dena completed a pediatric residency at UWSOM Children’s. She did fellowship training at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and completed her pediatric emergency medicine fellowship here at Children’s. She is an associate professor of pediatrics at the UWSOM, Department of Pediatrics and has been a member of Children’s medical staff since 1985.

Dr. Ed Marcuse, associate medical director for quality improvement, initiated Children’s Adverse Event Program and has contributed to our safety and quality program in many important ways. He will continue to work on quality improvement activities, linking them to our Continuous Performance Improvement (CPI) efforts, and will support Dena and her team.

Dr. Ken Jaffe Retires

On July 1, Dr. Ken Jaffe will retire from Children’s and his position as department director of Rehabilitation Medicine, after 26 years on the medical staff.

Drs. Ross Hays and Teresa Massagli will share director responsibilities until a new leader is hired.

In addition to directing the Rehabilitation Medicine Department, Jaffe has also served as chief of the Rehabilitation Medicine and Neuromuscular Clinics, co-director of the Limb Deficiency Clinic and program director of the pediatric rehabilitation medicine residency.

Jaffe led Children’s Rehabilitation Medicine Department to be one of the prominent pediatric rehabilitation programs in the nation.

CME Credit Now Offered for Grand Rounds Online

Starting with the May Grand Rounds, providers can now earn Category 1 Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit for viewing Grand Rounds Online on the Medical Staff Web site.

After watching the program, providers may complete and electronically submit the online form and evaluation. They will receive an auto-reply confirming their Category 1 credit.

This is a monumental step in bringing physicians across the nation to the Children’s Web site for continuing medical education and exposing them to our outstanding clinical faculty

If you have questions, contact Kathie Kohorn.

Children's Recognized for Innovative Transportation Program

Children’s received Commuter Challenge’s Diamond Award for its leadership in promoting alternative commute methods to employees. This is Children’s second consecutive Diamond Award from Commuter Challenge, a nonprofit organization committed to solving our region’s transportation issues.

Nearly 80% of Children’s employees working downtown and 62% of staff at the main hospital campus use something other than a single occupancy mode to commute.
In an effort to grow responsibly, Children’s has committed $2 million in the Major Institution Master Plan to make bicycle and pedestrian improvements around the hospital that will benefit neighbors and staff.

Plans include providing bikes for staff to ride to work free of charge. Children’s will also partner with the University of Washington to provide electrically assisted FlexBikes for one-way trips. This plan is modeled after a program in Paris.

Emergency Department (ED) Communication Center Recording Calls

To help Children’s provide the best quality service to patients and referring providers and to assist with training, the ED Communication Center is recording all calls coming in to or originating from phone line (206) 987-8899. This program began on May 13.

When calling in to this number, there is an initial audio message informing the caller that the call is being recorded. In the ED, phones that are recording calls are clearly marked with red stickers and red phone cords to alert users that they are speaking on a recorded line.

For questions, contact project manager Sue McGowan, or emergency medicine team leaders Amanda Mogg, BSN, RN and Patty Jason, BSN, CCRN.

Children's Sponsors Bioethics Conference

Children’s will sponsor the fourth annual conference on pediatric bioethics presented by Children’s Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics on July 25 and 26 at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center. Genetic testing in children and their families is the theme of this year’s conference.

Lectures, panel discussions and breakout sessions will address questions such as: which tests should be required of all newborns and which should not be permitted until the child reaches adulthood; should parents be allowed to test children for the risk of future disease; what are the ethical implications of using genetic tests to predict behavioral traits or enhanced abilities; and what if adolescents and their parents disagree about genetic testing decisions.

Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit is available for this event; preregistration is required. For more information or to register, visit the bioethics Web site.

Special Guest Dr. C. Everett Koop to Speak at Children's

Dr. C. Everett Koop, former Surgeon General of the United States, will be our honored guest and featured speaker at a celebration of the Herbert E. Coe Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery at UW Medicine. This event will be held June 4 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Wright Auditorium. Call (206) 543-7873 or e-mail to find out if there are still seats available for this very special occasion.

Please Protect Patient Information on Portable Devices

Protected health information (PHI) stored on portable devices is subject to the same regulations that protect PHI kept within the hospital. Examples of these devices include flash drives, laptops and personal digital assistants (PDA), such as “smart phones.”

Please follow these rules to protect Children’s patient and business confidential information:
When storing data on removable media such as flash drives (a.k.a. “thumb” or “jump” drives) or CDs:

Use only when necessary (e.g., if job requires travel where connection to Children’s remote access portal is not possible).
Carry it on your person — do not leave data unattended.
Regularly delete old/unneeded data from flash drives and securely dispose of CDs.
Password protect flash drives, smart phones and other personal devices.

When transporting laptops:

Always keep the laptop with you — don’t assume a locked car is secure even for a brief period of time.
Do not download any confidential information to non-Children’s laptops or other computers (e.g., personal home computers).
On Children’s laptops, store data only in your My Documents folder. (If the file name display is green, it’s encrypted.)

Request Your Free Tickets for Summer Celebration

Free tickets are available for Children’s staff (including medical staff) for A Celebration With the Beach Boys at Safeco Field on Tuesday, Sept. 16.

An all-hospital summer celebration, this event combines the annual picnic with a commemoration of the end of The Campaign for Children’s. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., followed by a special program at 7 p.m. and the Beach Boys in concert at 7:30.

Each staff member or volunteer may request up to four free tickets and four complimentary $10 concession vouchers; additional tickets may be purchased for $15 apiece, and floor seats can be purchased after June 1 through Ticketmaster for $50 or $100 each.

If you cannot come to the Volunteer Office during business hours, you may use the online order form. After June 13, tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster. For additional information, visit the Reward & Recognition site. Request your free tickets in the Volunteer Office by June 13 for priority seating in the 100 and 200 levels.

Teaching Scholars Applications Due June 13

Faculty in the health professions at the University of Washington (UW) are invited to apply for admittance to the Teaching Scholars Program, a one-year professional development program for educators in the health professions who have a passion for teaching and a desire to become academic leaders. The program’s goals are to develop academic leaders, to promote scholarly innovation and to enhance teaching skills.

The application form can be completed and submitted electronically. In addition to the application form, applicants must submit a curriculum vitae and goal statement, and provide a letter of support from their department chair stating the following commitments: approval for Tuesday morning release time for one year, beginning on September 16th; approval for two-day workshop; payment of a program fee of $3,650; and travel funds for the scholar to attend one educationally-oriented national meeting.

Applications are due to Lynne Robins, PhD, Teaching Scholars Program Director, by June 13.

Talking With Tweens and Teens: Healthy Answers to Tough Questions: A KING 5 Children's Healthlink Special

Growing up can be a challenge. In this remarkable one-hour television program, tweens and teens 12 to 18 years of age get together for a revealing discussion about the health issues they face today. Seattle Children’s doctors share facts and valuable information on topics including body image, drug use, peer pressure, sex and depression.

The special will air on KING 5 TV on Sunday, June 15, at 7 p.m.; on Northwest Cable News TV on Monday, June 16, at 10 p.m.; and on KONG TV in early July.

Canada Hosts Conference on Shaken Baby Syndrome

The North American Conference on Shaken Baby Syndrome will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia Oct. 5-7. Carol Jenkins, manager of Children’s Protection Program is among the presenters. For more information or to register online, view the conference brochure.

Save the Date: First Annual Nutrition Symposium

On Saturday, Oct. 25, Children’s will host the first annual nutrition symposium sponsored by the Division of Gastroenterology. Topics include infant nutrition, vitamin and mineral deficiency, enteral access, allergies and pediatric obesity. This event is CME accredited. More information will be available soon on the Medical Staff Web site.

New Medical Staff and Allied Health Professionals

Children’s welcomes these new medical staff members and allied health professionals.

Kathleen Cooke, MD, Anesthesia, Children’s
Robert Hevner, MD, PhD, Pathology, Children’s Research Institute/UW
Felice Orlich, PhD, Child Psychiatry, Children’s
Lee Chong, MB BS, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Robert Cooper, MD, Pediatrics NW
Signe Carlos, ARNP, Neurodevelopmental, Children’s

Grand Rounds

View the schedule of upcoming Grand Rounds.

Grand Rounds Online

View online versions of recent Grand Rounds.

On-Call Schedule

The on-call schedule for inpatient services can be found in the secure area of the Medical Staff Web site. It is updated on a daily basis.